In less than a week, more than 60 students from Charles Henderson High School will head out to our nation’s capital.

The members of the Blue Machine Marching Band are headed to participate in the National Heritage Festival of Gold in Washington, D.C.

To say it’s a prestigious honor would be an understatement.

These young musicians will be representing not only Troy City Schools and their families, but our community, when they join 14 other bands from across the country to compete. And when they step onto the stage at the Kennedy Center, they will no doubt savor an experience few among us could even dream about.

Getting to this point has taken a community effort. The students and their families have worked to raise tens of thousands of dollars to fund their trip. They’ve sold fruit and washed cars, spent long hours practicing and learned the value of hard work and the rewards of practice and patience. Along the way they’ve found the support of hundreds of donors, from the Troy City Schools Education Foundation to hundreds of friends and neighbors who’ve given pennies and dollars to the cause. And they’ve rallied the spirit of our town.

So as our young band members ready this week for their trip, they will go as ambassadors for our community – representing not just a school’s band program but also the thousands of people who have supported them along the way.

We wish them Godspeed and good luck!